HiLLjO I’m glad you can out all those heartbreak and frustration behind you now! We are still persevering (not much choice!)! bonkasaurus Yep, i still don’t quite understand the steep pricetag on mini apartments… but location like the one you mentioned is great though!

I feel it’s essential to make a disclaimer first that I am no expert on making hair fascinators. This was my second time trying (i did a tiny trial before making my actual bridal one) and I’m sure the masters who makes these things for a living do it far more effective and skillful than I did.

I also didn’t take any pictures of the process because I like my crafting in my dark messy little room where I’m free to experiment and change my mind when I want to, so I need you who intend to read through the boring stuff below to have a really imaginative mind.

I wanted a birdcage veil instead of the standard veil because I feel it fits my theme better and I can never imagine myself behind one of those long veils. I got a 12 inch width English veiling (Ivory) from pocketsaurus@Etsy and am extremely happy with it. I also followed closely the tutorial by Mary Ann with slight variations to customise my own gigantic head. Previously I got a 9 inch veiling but that does not even come close to covering my forehead. I wanted one that goes just slightly below one eye and the 12 inch is doing that just great.

In her tutorial you will see that she cut the veil 30 inches in length. I made the fatal mistake of cutting the veil too short the first time round and when that’s done, there’s no salvaging it unless you want that peek-a-boo style behind your fascinator. Personally, that first one was sitting a bit awkward on my head. So I got a 2nd piece and cut it a bit longer than 30 inches, given my big head. Basically, the longer it is, the puffier it’s going to be when you scrunch the edges together. If it’s too much for you, just trim off the extra length.

Mary Ann used a comb in her tutorial which she sew on by one of the corner of the nice edge first so that if there is any necessary changes you can still easily trim the other edge off. Instead of using a comb, I sewed mine onto a clip, which I feel is easier to put on and remove since for our traditional tea ceremony, I didn’t want the veil on, choosing instead to have it later in the evening for our solemnization.

In fact, my hair fascinator and birdcage veil were made separately because I wanted the versatility to change my look. After we were done with the solemnization, I pinned my birdcage veil in a slightly different manner so that it appeared shorter than it really is and not covering my face. You can probably tell better if you’d seen my night shots that the veil was still there, but less obvious. So hey! That’s 3 different looks there without a makeup artist!

2 looks 1 accessory. Left: during the tea ceremony only the hair fascinator was used. Right: birdcage veil was pinned under the same fascinator, though now it was inverted, instead of having the sparkly bits in front, it's now toward the back of my head, leaving the long ostrich fringe trim just slightly brushing on my forehead.

gemstones were added to the nice edge of the bircage veil. I spaced them apart so that they are not overwhelming nor heavy enough to cast weird shadows on my face. Who don't like a little glitter!

To make the birdcage veil fit better, my makeup artist taught me to use bobby pins to pin the naughty parts down before clipping the hair fascinator over to hide them. It’s really easier than it sounds because I was able to do that all by myself before the ceremony with a puny mirror.

my crash course to learn how to put on my DIY birdcage veil by myself later before the wedding ceremony

To make the hair fascinator, I first cut out the felt base where I would be pasting, sewing and other unorthodox methods of attaching my feathers, pearls and gemstones on. Depending on the shape you want your fascinator, say if it’s a flower, you may want to cut a circle, if it’s a tiara-like band, you may want a rectangular-shaped base. I wanted a fan-shaped one, but instead of cutting the felt out like a fan, I cut it out in a heart shape, just because.

Once you decided the shape that you need for your base, cut 2 identical ones out from felt. You really want to have a colour of the felt one that is similar to the colour of the fascinator you would be making. However if you have dark hair like me and your fascinator is going to be a dark-coloured one, then a black felt is perfectly fine.

Once you’re happy with your arrangements, start attaching them to your felt base. Personally, I first glued the feathers down (I used my trusty white craft glue, but really, you need a hot glue gun), made some simple stitches as insurance onto the glued feathers and covered them up with the lace pattern which i also glued onto the feathers. Next I sewed on all the pearls and stuff onto of the existing layers. These add as triple insurance that things don’t start falling out. Along the way, you will realise that, hey i need more feathers here or there’s a gap that needs touching up, no need to fret. The whole project’s not ruined as long as you don’t throw your hands up and declare it. If you need some touch-ups/cover-ups, this is the stage to do so. As long as they are done on this layer of felt which will be concealed. If you seen the back of my felt base, you would had seen a messy lot of knots and a lot of threads zig-zagging across the whole felt. Once we are done with that, roll the clip/comb up with some fabric or ribbons and tighten them with stitches and glue. Sew the fabric side of the clip onto the second piece of felt so that the ugly knots and stitches are hidden. Apply a mixture of fabric hardener and glue over the back of the warzone created on the first felt base. Press the two piece of felt together, with the ugly sides facing inward toward each other. Wait to dry. The next step is optional, but I like my stuff to last longer so I’ll just do a simple stitch around the felts, just in case. ( see picture above)

And that’s really all there is to it… at least from my end! Feel free to post any questions or comments if I had neglected anything, thanks for popping by today!

Well, it’s actually been our 3rd day back to Singapore, a cold and rainy one that is! And that has been one of my excuses for lazing around and not doing anything much at all, somehow the gloom makes the perfect atmosphere to do nothing and the bed more inviting than usual.

The honeymoon has not all been a sweet and dreamy one, for that matter, I don’t ever think traveling with me will ever be like that, as people who has been my traveling companions will attest and constantly remind others of that. Well, why pay good money to snooze and do and see nothing when I have my own clean and comfy bed to do all that at home? It just make good cents to me to seize the day, Carpe diem. My sprained right ankle, affectionately known to me as Pig Trotter, didn’t beg to differ as well! This story will be shared when I upload my honeymoon pictures. Morale of the story: Puffy winter clothing, a side-sling shoulder bag and a backpack half my size is not only a fashion faux pas but also potentially a deadly combination.

These are part 2 and the last of my wedding photo booth pictures. Part 1 is here if you missed them!

First, some out-takes:

and good old fashioned red carpet shots:

and these are the photos taken on Jan’s camera. Our camera battery went dead after too many flash shots at the Photo Booth. Another wedding tip if you are doing your own photo booth: Bring extra batteries.

the 2 ladies who helped to decor the pub to go with our theme

Round of applause for the Spellbound Wedding girls!!

Chicken Little and family!

with Jan who undertook the whole photography for our wedding

Chicken Little is not very happy not being the center of attraction

Rockabillies!

the musicians who graced our wedding... and here, I finally see a shot of the boutonnieres I made for the musicians! Look closely! One of them is seen between the Singapore and Malaysia flags.

with the excellent staff of Toucan Irish Pub

since 1993! That's how long ago when I first met the girls!

An Apology to all those who have been waiting for this batch of pictures! It’s plain to see, they are seriously overdue.

After some photo taking at the hotel, we took off in 3 cars to Toucan Irish Pub at Duxton Hill. I wanted only Baby’s Breath and Anna from Spellbound Weddings, along with Ellie, took care of all that flower arrangement for us! She also took my scrappy DIYs and displayed them in manners that far exceeded my expectations.

our reception table

our pretty receptionist!

cute signage by Anna!

On that little tree by the left is where we hung pictures of both of us, instead of printing them out on a photo book

one of our favourite photos out of the 20ish we picked out from our travels and engagement shoot. click on the picture to see some of the engagement pictures we took ourselves!

the wedding favors - click on the picture for these tutorial!

L.O.V.E.

little turquoise guitars and ribbons on doilies and hanging tealights

the aisle to the altar, lined with lotsa Baby's Breath

I had 8 of these little bubble bottles to be used as confetti after the ceremony. Note to everybody, you need more bottles than that! click on picture to see my notes on confettis!

Rock n' Roll is not dead - because for that one day, it's the 50s and the events that led to the song American Pie has not happened yet

I'm so glad I found these shoes, special thanks to Ching! Though if anyone of you out there is having an outdoor wedding, please buy those heel protectors. I had our initials lined out with crystals underneath the shoes, those along with the heels are knackered by the time the evening was over. click on the picture to see the one thing I should had gotten for the heels before the wedding but didn't and am now realy regretting that decision

You know I'm really happy when my smile turns into a grimace and all the facial lines and muscles are pushed into slight aesthetically-uncomfortable positions

You know I'm ecstatic when I start to guffaw with those MGM lion roar

the bridesmaid and the best man!

this and the next 2 pictures were taken during our brief rehearsal

while guests are arriving, I was off to do some last-min touch ups, redo my hair piece and attach the birdcage veil. Guests were encouraged to take photos at the photo booth we set up. We thought we prepared enough props for the photo booth - fun retro eyewears, blackboards and markers.. etc. Anna surprised us with more eyewears and a couple of boas. Isn't that service excellence or what!

the backdrop for our photo booth with the poster I did myself.. colour came out wrong actually but since it was already printed, it will be a shame for me to waste it just because of a slight off with the colours.. click picture to see part 1 of the pictures we took at the photobooth!

... and so begins the wedding solemization. leon our best man with anna our wonderful decorator

leon looking more tense than the groom

my mum walked me down the aisle to the music "In Time Love Comes" specially composed by our friend Tze. To listen to our march-in song, click on the picture!

Note to all future grooms, please say " I do" to your bride, not to the Pastor nor the Justice of Peace. For clarification, he did say that to my face, this is an example of how it would look like if you forgot

stefan repeating his vows to me, mostly about how I irritated the hell out of him

i stuck with the safer choice of for better or for worse

it's comforting to see that I'm not the only one with double chin

thanks to all my 'bubble generators'!

an oh-so-sweet and beautiful poem written for us by our friend Ganesh... fitting for this picture 'cause he's in it!

and then it was time for the bouquet tossing

it took me at least 3 tries to get the toss right. the first few times stefan was always there to catch my stray-flying bouquet

Last month I got a copy of Vogue Australia. Reason? The whole theme of the magazine is Fifties Fever!

to get her look, click here

Their latest shopping finds feature is: The 50s, What’s your style? Are you a Sweetheart with pastel skirts and tea dresses? A Rockability Girl who lusts after leather and pointed heels? Or a Pin-up girl, all seductive and playful at the same time. Apart from the articles and the usual fashion spread, I also love it that some of the ads are 50s-inspired, just look at these:

Giorgio Armani

Louis Vuitton has this whole series of 50s inspired print ad which i just adore. This is the one that appeared on the back of Vogue Australia's back cover.

I did a post on Prada's Winter/Fall 2010-2011 Collection, click here to see the video!

I think this is simply cute!

This last one just reminds me of Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Have good week everyone!

Prada’s new collection of “SWING” sunglasses featured 50s silhouettes in the background with, in my opinion, Predators hairdo or generally speaking, the signature beehive. Shot by Steven Meisel and featuring the vocals of Katey Judd, I believe the 50s are coming back. Just look at what Guess, MNG, Chanel among others are doing now.

There should be more manly glamorous website featuring men’s fashion. While I did stumble on a few, they seem to focus more on gay beefcakes than regular joes, and especially, not the fashion. My man here knows enough to make himself look sharp o any given day, however when it comes to styling him in vintage 50s fashion for the wedding, this is where I hit the hump.

This makes me all the more determined to find the inspiration I need.

I think this looks cute. This is my wedding colour theme. Picture this on him.

from MeandMatilda@Etsy

Though this vintage Rockabilly Regal Plaid tie will probably work too.

I’m always on the lookout for ideas for my own photoshoot… which is impending (!) but we are just so not prepared. Really, sometimes I tell myself, WTH, just get out the camera, have fun and see what works.

Afterall, it’s the personality in front of the camera that matters, isn’t it. crap.

“Strangely enough, this is the past that somebody in the future is longing to go back to” – Ashleigh Brilliant

Have you ever wondered why the grass is always greener on the other side and that when you’re doing Task A, you long to do Task B. And when Task B is at hand, Task A seems more attractive.

Somewhere today, I was having this moment. And I’m pretty sure I’ll have one of these episodes again in the ‘morrow. Well, I shan’t attempt to answer this perpetual dissatisfaction of Mankind nor elaborate on how Procrastination may be the direct result of this dilemma. I suspect I won’t do a good job at that nor are you interested to delve into, this being my wedding blog and all.

How about some hairdos? I have been hating my hair recently that I can’t help but let my thoughts dribble itself to some pretty hairdos. Timing seems about right, I just contacted a Hair and Makeup Artist, Gin Tan, it’s been long overdue… Please, Gin, please block the date for me? pretty please??

The Bandeau Poof with Silk Flower and Swarovski Crystal from FascinatingCreations@Etsy